UK SMEs spend almost 17 working days a year managing utility admin

UK SMEs are spending almost 17 working days every year managing utility admin, according to new research from multi-utility provider Everflow.

The research found businesses spend an average of 11.4 hours every month managing water, energy, waste and connectivity – adding up to the equivalent of 17 working days over the course of a year.

With many SMEs starting to plan ahead for 2027, Everflow says the findings highlight an often-overlooked drain on business time and productivity – and an opportunity to review how essential services are managed.

Craig Dallison, CEO at Everflow, said:

“Seventeen working days is a significant amount of time for any business, but particularly for SMEs where people are often juggling multiple roles and priorities.

“Utilities are essential, but managing them shouldn’t become a job in itself. When businesses are dealing with different providers, bills, contracts and queries across several services, those hours can quickly add up.

“As businesses start planning for the year ahead, it’s a good opportunity to look at where unnecessary admin may have built up in the background. That means reviewing suppliers, bills and how services are managed, and looking for ways to make the whole process more efficient and manageable.

“For some businesses, that could include bringing services together rather than maintaining multiple supplier relationships and duplicating the same admin across different utilities. Ultimately, saving time can be just as valuable as saving money.”

Inherited contracts and missed opportunities to streamline suppliers

The findings also suggest many SMEs are managing a mix of suppliers they did not actively choose.

Only two in five businesses (41%) chose all of their water, waste and telecoms suppliers themselves. The rest inherited some or all of them with the premises, and one in seven (14%) have never reviewed those suppliers since.

There are also gaps in how closely businesses monitor their utilities. More than half (53%) do not actively monitor all of three services, including 40% who monitor some but not all, 8% who track spend but not usage levels and 5% who pay their bills without monitoring or restricting usage.

The findings suggest that, for some SMEs, there is an opportunity to take a fresh look at both the time and money tied up in managing essential services – from reviewing inherited suppliers to understanding usage and reducing duplicated admin.

Everflow provides water supply, commercial waste and connectivity services, with a focus on making utilities simple for SMEs.